Cougar wrote:
fas‧cism /ˈfæʃɪzəm/ [fash-iz-uhm]
--"Fascism is a radical political ideology that combines elements of corporatism, authoritarianism, nationalism, militarism, anti-anarchism, anti-communism and anti-liberalism."
Hi, I am an American. I live in Texas, I have a job, I live in a one bedroom apartment, I own a vehicle, I have a girlfriend whom I love very much, I enjoy everyday freedoms and rights that the brave men who came before me fought and died to give to me. I am a law abiding citizen, I vote, I pay taxes, I do jury duty, I served in my country's armed forces. I love my family, my friends, my neighbors, my country. Hi, I am an American.
If any of our forefathers could come back to the realm of the living and read the above paragraph, it would instill a sense of victory, accomplishment, success and satisfaction to know that what they wanted to accomplish back in 1776 for their children and children's children, had succeeded. A better life, free from tyranny, oppression and domination. A country who's masses governed the government, instead of the government governing the masses. A nation who's number one priority was the freedom and prosperity of it's people.
Hopefully it would be the only paragraph that they would read. I have the distinct feeling if they were to read an hours worth of CNN or go back and read over the constitution and bill of rights with all of its new amendments that they would either have a heart attack on the spot or start forming a militia to take over Washington.
The government has almost completely become exactly what they hoped it would not. Corruption has become widespread, it is no longer which candidate is best but rather, who has more money. The government no longer prints it's own money but rather, a private bank called the "Federal Reserve" owned by a conglomerate of wealthy bankers controls the nations currency. Americans are being charged a labor tax, which is unlawful and forced to fill out 1040's that are enforced by a agency (IRS) that has no legal backing to enforce anything. Not only are 1040's practically illegal, just filling one out is in violation of the 5th amendment, because you have to fill it out and if you lie you go to jail, but if you have done something wrong and you put it there, you still go to jail, in other words, you are incriminating yourself. We have a two party system that works against itself, something Thomas Jefferson, George Washington and John Adams all warned about. We have an intelligence agency that answers to no one but itself, making it above the law and a supreme court who's verdicts and judgments are negated and voided by lower courts. We have had consecutive administrations that spy on the people illegally and then answer to know one when caught, administrations that pass bills like the Patriot Act that nullify most of our rights listed on the Bill of Rights, in the name of safety.
They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety. --Benjamin Franklin
What do you honestly think a founding father would do if they came to the future and set eyes upon us? Sit and think about that for a minute. Forget about being a Democrat, Republican, Conservative, Liberal. Remember to be an American and sit there and think hard about what they would do.
Now that you are done thinking about that, go back and re-read the definition of fascism. Tell me that doesn't sound an awful lot like what America is becoming. All of the parts of the definition, corporatism, authoritarianism, nationalism, militarism, anti-anarchism, anti-communism and anti-liberalism are all part of our government, economy and social structure and WE DON'T EVEN NOTICE. Sometimes I think most people just don't care anymore. We as a nation have become so fat and lazy that we will endure anything so long as we have a comfy couch and a HDTV to come home too. It makes me so angry to know that if something were to happen, no one would do anything about it because it would mean that their nice pleasant little lives would get interrupted and they might miss an episode of 24 or American Idol, they wouldn't get their gas for under 2.50 a gallon and Domino's pizza would no longer deliver to their door.
I just went out on a break with a co-worker. I asked this co-worker the same question about what the forefathers came back and saw the state of the union, what would they think. He went on about how it really wouldn't hold any bearing into today's society and things of that nature, but before he could finish I asked him if he would even care what they thought. He said, no. I then asked him if he had ever read the constitution or the Bill of Rights. He said he had read the Bill but not the constitution. I then asked him if he even cared what was in it and he said, no. I'd would dare to say 9 out of 10 Americans have never given it a read. This piece of paper pretty much says what you can and can't do, from the time you wake up until the time you go to sleep and he doesn't care, as most Americans probably do not care. A simple piece of paper. A piece of paper that protects you from tyranny, oppression, a piece of paper that gave a nation rights that no other nation at the time had for its people and soon gave the rest of the world a rolemodel for freeing itself. A piece of paper that we thought so important that we preserved it for almost 300 years. He doesn't care. Most Americans, don't....care. Ask these same people how much they would care if that piece of paper no longer existed and we lived in a Police State or Fascist State such as Nazi Germany or Communist Russia and all of the sudden they are gung-ho American protectors of the freedom. Then you will care. Then it will be to late. You cannot change a democracy using the rights given to you by the constitution if it no longer exists.
Well it isn't going to matter what YOU think before to long. Honestly, after sitting here reading articles, books, research papers, watching documentary's and other various forms of information, I as an American can only see the next 10 years going 1 of 2 ways.
1. A George Orwell Nightmare Pretext
Government issued ID cards are slated to be out and issued by the end of 2008. A national ID card would be something similar to a drivers license with the difference being, you HAVE to have it on you at all times. You cannot operate a vehicle, go into a federal building, board a plane, get a job, get medical attention, insurance, a bank account (or any banking services), use public services or even buy goods. These cards will also be fitted with microchips that act almost like miniature GPS systems, making your whereabouts known to anyone who wishes to know. Take the card away and you take a persons freedoms away. So lets say hypothetically that Pres Bush decides to declare Martial Law under the pretext of a terrorist attack (which now, under the patriot act he can do without the approval of congress and the duration can last up to 6 months without any kind of reasoning or review) and the government disables the cards. Now you can no longer draw money from the bank, put gas in your car, buy food. You have basically been unwittingly bent to the will of the government. What happens after that is up to whoever is in charge at that point.
(Also, think of a military draft. They issue one, you don't show up and all of the sudden you can no longer function, not to mention they know where you are.)
"All political thinking for years past has been vitiated in the same way. People can foresee the future only when it coincides with their own wishes, and the most grossly obvious facts can be ignored when they are unwelcome.--George Orwell"
2. The Second Great Depression
It's a known fact that America has hit it's Oil Peak. This means we are using more oil than we are bringing in, which by logic, means we are going to run out. Do you think that all that is going on in the Middle East is to fight Terrorism? Get over yourself, it's for OIL. Oil is the one and only thing that would make present day America invade another country illegally and under false pre-text. It's a resource war, and you're going to be seeing a lot more of them in the next decade as oil supplies dry up around the world. The next oil shortage is going to make the 1970's oil crisis look like a cake walk. There will not be any relief because there will be no more oil. The first things you will see are unusually high gas prices, followed by trucks on the side of the road, full of goods, broke down because they have ran out of diesel. Next, airliners will go bankrupt and there will be next to no airliners able to operate, the ones that are able to stay running will be charging astronomical airliner fees just to stay in the air. Next you will see the price of food go up as farm equipment can no longer operate and trucks can no longer ship food to markets, this will force massive inflation on all markets thus causing lay-offs and mass un-employment. Wall Street will all but collapse and the price of the dollar will plummet. Around this time, expect another "terrorist attack" from another foreign country (more than likely with alot of oil) and hence we invade another country and have another war. This will probably force a draft. It's going to be Vietnam in 1934, present day.
"When the well's dry, we know the worth of water.--Ben Franklin"
What can we do about it? Rather ask yourself what you want to do about it. Maybe you want to sit there and endure whatever comes your way in the hope that it doesn't disrupt your perfect little lives. Maybe you want to take the approach I took by trying to inform people, or maybe you want to get into politics. Perhaps you, like very very few American's this day in age, will be the modern day minutemen, ready on a moments notice to defend your country from all enemies, foreign and domestic. Whatever the case, stop bickering with each other over whether democrats or republicans are right or wrong, and start working together to ensure that there will still be democrats and republicans when you wake up in the morning. When the day comes when you realize American democracy is gone, it's too late.
"A tragic situation exists precisely when virtue does not triumph but when it is still felt that man is nobler than the forces which destroy him.--George Orwell"
"The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.--Edmund Burke"
--Cougar
Very good post Cougar and I agree with the majority of it. However, as I read a few thoughts came to mind.
1. If our fore- fathers came back to life today, I think the first thing they would be asking is, "Where the hell are all the slaves." Or, "We freed who??!!
2. You do paint a very grim future for us and you have some incredibly valid points. It is just as I read your post I was thinking of all the improvements our existence has brought to the world. I thought of our great strides in civil rights and women's rights. How tolerant our nation has become of others. As a matter of fact I will argue that a lot of our problems have stemmed from too much trust and tolerance of others who have no interest in the future or the well being of our nation.